Pitchers and catchers need to spend time during practice by themselves so others can learn about the pitcher’s strengths. The pitcher himself learns to throw where the catcher’s glove is placed. This drill involves only the pitcher standing on the mound and the catcher crouched in his stance behind home plate. From a very young age, many pitchers develop an arsenal of pitches. While breaking balls may be off the menu until later years, pitchers and catchers must be on the same page in terms of pitch selection and location.
As for receiving the baseball, we need to make sure that players do a few things technique wise to build their confidence. It is not about how much a glove costs; it’s about how it is broken in and maintained throughout the year. Many of us, including me, were taught to break in a glove by putting a baseball in it, tying a string around it, and keeping it like that in the off-season. The problem is that the glove forms into a closed position, and a young player may not be able to open it up with his hand.
Bunt drill – Youth players may not be stealing bases like the pros, but they will certainly see their fair share of bunts and dribblers hit a few feet past home plate. A key tool for all catchers is the ability to throw out runners on the basepaths. This type of player may be different than a player yankee catchers list who can throw well from the outfield, so try young arms out from behind the plate to evaluate arm talent. Most of these catching drills can be made catcher conditioning drills by running them quickly and efficiently. Instead of having the catcher block one ball, have the catcher block five.
Baseball Training World was created as an online solution to people’s baseball needs. Place the ball in front of the catcher – Choose a spot in front of the catcher and place it on the ground. Putting it in different locations allows the catcher to take different routes and grab the ball from different angles. The catcher should start from behind the plate with a normal stance. Each of these movements is a crucial thing that a catcher must learn and perform at any moment.
If these rule changes make it to all the other levels of baseball, having a strong arm behind the plate will become even more of a necessity. With all the attention given to receiving in the public analysis realm, it’s no surprise that the difference between the best, worst, and league average receivers has significantly tightened. The days of Jose Molina being +75 runs better than other catchers are in the past.
If you feel a little uncomfortable doing this don’t sweat it. After practicing it for a while it will become a more natural feel for you. The block position to throw is a simple exercise drill but a very crucial one. What you want to do is first start in the blocking position and then pop up and get into the throwing position as fast as you can. Timing is very important to a catcher on how fast they can get their throw down to the base and having a quick motion and release will greatly improve that timing. Calling Pitches Drill for CatchersGood catchers call pitches based on his pitcher’s strengths, and not the batter’s weakness.
When balls strike the mitt or are blocked by the catcher, they still have to be thrown back to the pitcher. The hardest part of a catcher’s job is getting into a position to make the throw. Snapping to position is going to take practice but will prove to be worth it. Lob a baseball to the catcher and have him practice securing the ball in his glove as the runner slides into the plate. To avoid injuries, coaches could have each member of the team run from third to home so each player slides only once. Also, since this is not a real game situation, the runners don’t need to slide into home at full speed, which can also cause injury.
For this drill, the catcher should receive the ball like a first baseman, providing a good target with one foot on the plate and reaching for the ball. Once they receive the ball, they can add a shuffle to the left of the baseline and throw to first to try and get the batter out. Shuffling to the left will give them a better angle for the throw. With the tennis ball in hand, stand away from a flat, clear wall, and throw the ball underhanded.